Hunter's Fate
by fiesa
Summary: Eight Hunters. Eight-Plus-One OneShots. HF9/9 - Rese is anything than perfect. Complete.
1. Cassidy

**Here and Now**

_Summary: HF1. It's New Year's Eve. Cass watches his family._

_Warning: Second version. This time indefinitely less angsty, more fluffy and as pointless as always. _

_Set: Story-unrelated, future-fic_

_Diclaimer: I'll say it once. I don't own Night School. _

_

* * *

_

It's New Year's Eve.

Night falls softly onto the big house. It's cold outside, freezing cold actually. Breath stands in frozen little puffs of air in front of the faces of the few people who dare to be outside at this time of the day. Or night, rather, because it is almost midnight.

Almost New Year.

It hasn't been snowing since the great storm before Christmas forced them to stay at home and wait for the weather to get better in order to continue their routine patrols. But it still is cold, even colder than before. The moon is almost full and hangs from the dark blue sky, a golden shape in the midst of a few white clouds. The dark sky is beautiful, indefinitely deep and captivating. White clouds of steam rise towards it from the chimneys of the houses along the street. The sight is familiar and yet alien and he thinks if he watches the sky too long he'll fall into it, lose himself in the velvety darkness that surrounds them entirely. He directs his gaze towards the earth again.

Leaning against the little wall that separates their house from the street, Cassidy watches his family, his hands buried in his pockets.

"You should have seen her!" Jay shouts across the street from where he is carefully placing four glass bottles next to each other on the wet, cold pavement. His twin brother is near, of course, silently handing him the rockets they want to launch. To his right, Ten snickers loudly, arranging several glasses on a tablet. She had wanted champagne, _real_ one, but Cass had vetoed the decision. Alcohol wasn't as intoxicating for the quickly-regenerating metabolism of Hunters as it was for humans, but he knew better than to risk anything that would place them in the Council's spotlights once again. They had to be careful, especially since what had happened last year, and he was the one who constantly reminded his Clave to keep their heads down. The fact that they were Daemon's students didn't really come to their aid. Most Council Elders distrusted them. But they were used to that kind of treatment by now.

Nadia is running a perimeter check and will be back soon. Cass can feel her approaching the street entrance. Marina is sitting on the low wall, her legs swinging back and forth in a rhythm only she can hear.

Rese – of course, Rese is the main subject of their teasing – snorts angrily as she comes into earshot and puts the lighter and the candle she has brought from the kitchen down more forcefully than necessary.

"Can't you, for once, shut up?"

Now, even Terrance smirks.

"I wish I could have seen that."

"It was hilarious," Jaq replies, his face entirely serious. Merely the fact that Cass knows him enables him to see the huge grin hidden underneath his frown.

"The next time you try to catch a vampire on a frozen boardwalk, let us know, Rese. We'll bring a camera."

Rese is blushing crimson, fury and embarrassment coloring her cheeks.

"I slipped and fell! What's so unusual about it?"

"Maybe the fact that Hunters don't slip?" Ten suggests. "Maybe that you had been going on about how you wouldn't slip if the street turned into ice at once and then did exactly that?"

"Maybe, maybe," Jay echoes. "Maybe you're just angry because we watched the great Teresa slip and fall like a clumsy little vampire hatchling? Maybe she would like some band-aid?"

Actually, it's not funny. Rese did slip and fall and she hurt herself pretty bad in the process. Cass knows because he is able to see the tiny change in her walk, the way she limps on her right leg almost unnoticeably. But she never will let him check on her. Probably she has twisted her ankle, it has already happened before. But she doesn't say anything, so he can't say anything, either.

"Shut up, idiot! I'd like to see you…"

Filtering the noise out of his mind, Cass smiles. Rese stomps over to sit next to Marina, who takes her hand as if she still was a ten-year-old child. But Rese doesn't seem to mind. She pulls down her jacket arm so their hands are kept warm. Nadia materializes from the shadows and comes to sit on Mar's other side. The seer tells her something and they smile and Rese replies something and Mar laughs and Nadia shakes her head. Ten has finished pouring the drinks and now is arranging the other rockets and fireworks into two piles. Then, she grabs the candle and lighter Rese has brought outside and walks over to where Cass is standing to place the candle in the little snow-house they have built in the afternoon. The soft light illuminates her features which are bright with anticipation. Ten, of course, loves the noise and the colors of fireworks. Terrance, Jay and Jaq, in the meantime, are discussing something he cannot hear from his position. Jay says something and starts gesticulating wildly. Terrance nods once and Jaq shrugs. Cass checks his watch and, from the corners of his eyes, sees Ten do the same. It's ten to twelve. Mar is pointing towards the sky and Rese follows her gaze, smiling softly. She only ever smiles like this when Mar is there. Cass feels warmth boiling up inside of him: This is his family, his Clave. His best friends and his fighting partners. They have been together since Teacher has taken them in and he cannot imagine a world without them. They belong together because they complement each other perfectly:

They have Ten's fire, Nadia's watchfulness and Terrance's steadfastness. They have Jaq's calmness and Jay's humor and Mar's kindness. And they have Rese's impatience and his patience. They fit together into one single, imperfect unit – because nothing ever is as perfect as it could be. And it shouldn't be, because perfection is what his Hunter ancestors developed and what brought forth their downfall and the new Hunter's Society in which they now live. His Clave is the only thing that counts and he would go to the end of the world if it was necessary in order to protect-

His thoughts are interrupted as a dark figure appears at the end of the road and starts approaching them. Immediately, all their attention is focused on him. Ten greets him first:

"Teacher! You're back!"

Daemon frowns his trademark frown and looks down the road on which they have placed their rockets, their tray, a bottle, their softly-glowing snow-light, candles and other things. Around them, the street is slowly filling up with people, old and young, small and tall, women and men and children. Mar giggles as she watches three kids chase each other around a few parked cars.

"It's almost time," Teacher says and they all check their watches automatically. One minute. Mar jumps down from the wall and brings Rese and Nadia with her and Terrance, Jaq and Jay join them. Cass pulls his hands from his pockets and walks over. They all assemble in front of the little entrance in the stone wall. Hidden from the peoples' eyes by a few bushes, they stand in the semi-light that is a gift of their Hunters' eyes. Mar extends her other hand and takes Nadia's, Ten takes Nadia's other one, Jay and Jaq and Terrance fall into the little circle they have created. Cass throws a look at Daemon, who lifts his brows and nods a "Go ahead" and he steps into the circle, taking Rese's and Terrance's hands. Rese's hand is warm and small compared to his and he feels the electric current run through him, like every time he touches her. Her smile, suddenly, has become blinding as she looks at him and the others and then closes her eyes. They follow her example.

A year ends.

* * *

Another one begins.

The first seconds of a year, an old Hunter Tale says, are the seconds in which the borders between dreams and reality become fleeting. In those few seconds realms merge for fleeting moments, veils are lifted, windows opened. Worlds touch and separate again.

The first seconds of the year, they spend in silence.

Suddenly, the noises of the people along the street disappear and the sound of the wind in the tree-tops grows louder and more musical. Laughter echoes through the night. A church-bell rings, silently, steadily. Far away. Maybe in this realm, maybe in another. None of them breathes but everyone hears each other's heart-beat. Behind them, Teacher is standing, a silent and reassuring anchor, a barrier between them and the world.

And, here and now, as the New Year begins, they make a wish.

Cassidy's one is simple. He wants to spend his life with them: With Jay, Jaq, Terrance, Nadia, Ten and Marina. And Rese. Of course, with Rese. The warmth from her hand creeps up his arm, into his body. Into his heart. Long before the others are ready, his eyes are open again. And when Rese opens hers, she finds his gaze fixed on her without blinking. When she blushes furiously and tries to free her hand from his grasp, he smiles and lets go. Ten, Jay, Terrance and Mar run towards the rockets, Nadia and Terrance follow slowly. Teacher already has lit the fuse of the first four rockets. A wheezing noise and a flash of light and they take off, catapulted towards the sky. In the midst of the colorful flames, they explode in showers of red, green, blue and yellow stars and sparks and Mar's and Ten's cheers mingle with the joyful shouts of the neighbor's children. Cass follows Rese as she walks towards their family and pretends not to notice her hand sneaking into his pocket. Again, she blushes at the intensity of his emotions but this time, she doesn't pull away.

A new year, the Tale says, isn't necessarily a new beginning.

It's a continuation of their Here and Now.

* * *

_A/N Happy New Year. May 2011 be full of joy and happiness for you!_


	2. Jay

**House of Freaks**

_Summary: HS2. Sometimes, Jay feels like the only sane person in a house full of freaks.  
_

_Warnings: Please read with a great dose of irony, sarcasm and black humor. It's important.  
_

_Set: Story-unrelated_

_

* * *

_

Sometimes, Jay feels like the only sane person in a house full of freaks.

Nobody can blame him. His cohabitants have the weirdest backgrounds, the strangest gifts and the most interesting histories.

Cassidy and his eyes come in first on his list. Jay still isn't sure if it's a gift or a curse but he remembers: when he heard of it for the first time he didn't believe it. The first time he _saw_ him use it he avoided the boy for almost two weeks. He isn't afraid, of course he isn't. _(Why should he be afraid of someone who could kill him just by looking at him?) _Cassidy is weird, no doubt, and _that thing_ doesn't make it better. And then there is his near _perfection_, the way he is able to do _everything_ just right. It's strange because there is no human being Jay knows that is as _perfect _as Cassidy. It's unnatural.

On second place, directly behind Cassidy, comes Marina. She's not scary, like Cass sometimes is, but plainly _freaky_. Sometimes she's so far gone even talking to her is useless. When she takes her medicine she's fine, though. Until she starts staring into empty space again, mumbling weird things and randomly asking for cake. She forgets her name, where she is and who they are, and Jay doesn't wonder about the fact that most seers lose their mind sooner or later.

Third in his list is Nadya, because she is a perfect killing machine. Sometimes he's not sure if she even is human. She doesn't blink when she hunts, shows no signs of compassion or any other sentiment whatsoever. This isn't what a Hunter is supposed to be like, Jay thinks, this isn't what any human being should be like. Nadya is cold as a stone.

Fourth place is for his brother, Jaq. Because he lives in darkness and darkness is what makes him live. He has this weird ability to transfer a part of his fighting skills into his hair _(How creepy is that?) _and can conjure up marionettes that look exactly like him. Even more – Jaq fights like a night creature himself. He attacks from the shadows, hidden and unseen, lethal and quick. A Hunter should show some presence, Jay believes.

Fifth are Teresa and her freaking ability to _read his mind_. She can't actually, he knows, but sometimes it seems just like that. It took him some time until he realized what it was she actually was doing. _(She doesn't read minds, she reads emotions but that doesn't make a difference.) _Her _gift_ might be not as _weird _as Cassidy's or Marina's but still it's not something Jay wants to get used to. He is careful not to touch her accidentally.

And finally, Ten and Terrance share the sixth place. Because they might not be as _talented _as the others are but they are strange nevertheless. What else can you say about a fifteen-year old girl whose favorite weapon is a huge, heavy battle axe? Who can hear you when you're not even close? Or about an eighteen-year old boy who never talks and who's able to see through things – seemingly? _(This time, it's not a special gift, but his sight is amazing nevertheless.)_

_

* * *

_

Because he and Jaq are brothers and Jaq is the older one, he has inherited all the skills and abilities their parents had to offer. Jay is plainly normal. A good Hunter but by training, not by birth. He has neither special gifts nor strange abilities. He has to work to achieve what Jaq and all the others _(except for Marina but she's not like them)_ take in without having to do anything. It's the fact that they are brothers that makes him the inferior, the weaker part. But he'd still rather be _inferior_ and _normal_ than _freaky_ and _weird _like them.

* * *

It's not envy that drives him to think like that.

He doesn't want to be like Cassidy – always reminded of his curse – or Marina – never being able to fully live in the present – or Jaq – living in darkness because darkness is the only thing that is left for him. He doesn't want to be like Nadya – a perfect Hunter without any emotions – or like Teresa – able to feel what others are feeling and not knowing about her own feelings at all – or like Ten – or like Terrance. He's quite content to be just the way he is.

He is plainly _normal._ And that isn't that bad, because there are enough other people living with him to remind him that being _different_ isn't easy at any times. Maybe that's why they all are together – Cassidy and Teresa and Jaq and Ten and Terrance and Marina and Nadya. The more strange people in one place, the less one stands out. But then, Jay wonders what _he_ is doing with them.

_(Because in a house of freaks, the normal one stands out, obviously.)_

It's only when he meets people even _creepier_ and _weirder_ that he is suddenly able to appreciate the moderate weirdness and freakiness his friends and his brother bring into his life.

* * *

A girl opens the door, roughly his age, her eyes grey and her hair entirely white. Her face is set in a dark scowl.

"What do you want?"

"Hey!" He retorts and glares right back at her. "We've been called here. No need to get all unfriendly."

Cassidy pushes him aside firmly and takes his place.

"We're Daemon's students. He called us here?"

The weirn girl – he is a Hunter so he doesn't need special abilities to see she's a witch – doesn't seem too happy to let them enter. Still, she opens the door and returns into the house without looking back. The Hunters look at each other, shrug and follow, and Jay thinks the girl could use some good manners. It doesn't seem like anyone has taught her those yet and she's even worse than Nadya with her usual, blunt manner.

In the living-room, Teacher, Mr. Roi and a few other people have taken seats and seem to be shifting uncomfortably. A tall woman with messy brown hair is searching for something frantically. She already has upset two chests of drawers and it doesn't seem like she's finding what she is searching for. Mumbling to herself, she hastens from one drawer to the next.

"I'm so sorry!" She apologizes while searching, her face red. "I could have sworn it was here somewhere… I put it there last time, I can remember exactly…"

"You put it in the kitchen cabinet," the white-haired girl tells her and the woman blushes even deeper.

"Really? I don't remember…"

She rushes into the kitchen and returns with a book, her face still red, her hand mussing up her hair even worse. On her way back, she trips over the carpet and almost ruins a picture frame that's standing on a chest of drawers.

"I told you," the girl mumbles and sits down on the farthest corner of a chair. The woman attacks her from behind, cuddling her and cooing about what she'd do without her little sister. Jay watches and shakes his head and thinks even Marina is less unorganized, even when she's not with them - mentally.

The Roi guy, who has been reading another book and hasn't looked up, nods at the entering students.

"Haven't you forgotten someone?" He asks and Jay needs a few seconds to realize what he's indicating at. Yes, they haven't brought Jaq and Nadya because they still have been on patrolling duty yesterday night. The man has listened to their steps, he finally gathers, and has noticed there were only six of them instead of the usual eight. _How creepy._ This man definitely tops Terrance and his usual, freaking alertness.

"What are we here for, Teacher?" Cass asks and is rewarded with a short glance.

"Sit down. We'll get to you as soon as possible."

* * *

They comply. The next hour is spent by watching and listening and trying to make as many connections as possible, to put together all those tiny little pieces they can gather from what the grown-ups say. Jay starts getting bored, _majorly _bored, and gives the people around him more thorough glances.

There are two girls, sitting close to each other, apparently sisters. While the older one listens intently and adds a few words to the discussion sometimes, the younger one watches them. When her eyes meet Jay's, she smiles friendly.

"Don't worry. They just want to gather all the information we have and discuss what they're going to tell your Hunter Council and our Night Board."

He lifts his brows.

"How do you…"

She smiles and realization hits him. _Damn. _This girl really can read his mind. The girl shakes her head.

"It's not like that. I only can read emotions, and…"

"I don't care," he interrupts and turns away, blocking out the sight of her hurt expression. At least, _Teresa hides_ the fact that she can feel their emotions. This girl just screams _I'm a freakin' mind reader! _He's sorry he has hurt her but he needed time to get used to Teresa already. The fact that there's another one of her kind makes him nervous. He just can't stand the thought that he isn't alone even in his own head.

The next time he looks at her, she smiles, a bit sadly, but understanding. And kind.

_Damn._

He needs some time until he registers that Cassidy is talking. Tearing his mind into the present, he concentrates on the discussion.

And realizes that Cassidy has been talking until now and falls silent. Instead, the other girl with the dark, long hair has taken over. And, Jay can't believe his ears, she sounds exactly like Cassidy.

_A clone._

No.

Another freaking _image of perfection. _What is she going to do next? Pulverize him with one single glance?

Shaking his head in disbelief, he decides to take a short break from reality.

"Can I use the bathroom?" He asks abruptly and gets up so quickly Marina flinches. The weirn woman smiles, slightly nonplussed.

"Of course. The third door on the left side."

* * *

He locks himself in the bathroom and takes a few minutes to calm his breath. Then, closing his eyes and opening them again, he leaves the room and returns to the slowly darkening corridor. A shadow moves at the other end and a dark shadow slips up the stairs. Jay freezes, watchful, but the shadow doesn't move further. Instead, he watches him from the top flight, a dark shape against the white wall. Jay feels oddly reminded at his brother and his ability to hide in the shadows. No, scratch that, this guy _is _like his brother. Only weirder, because the person almost glides into the corridor and down the stairs and throws him a short glance before entering the living-room and he is able to see it's the woman, the other Nereshai. But she doesn't say anything so Jay doesn't speak either and just follows her back into the living-room.

A tall, lanky young man is talking animatedly, re-telling historic events that somehow are linked to the Sohrem and their last fight. He musters the same enthusiasm Ten shows whenever she is talking about the Council or Hunter's history.

_Great. Just great._

This definitely isn't his day.

* * *

So now he has the assurance that there definitely are people who are even _freakier_ than his friends. Jay's not sure he feels relieved.

But then, whatever he might think about his weird housemates, his brother and his best friends: it is just the way they are, and he doesn't mind too much.

Cassidy is brilliant. And he has to be because he's their leader. And his eyes aren't so scary when you know he'd never do anything to hurt you.

Marina is strange. But then, all seers are. And she's not insane, like most of the seers usually become. She's not even too annoying – she's cute, sometimes, and like a little sister to him.

Nadya has a heart, he knows it. He has seen her cry alone in her room. And she's kind. She's so kind she has to put on a mask while hunting because she can't bear to hurt other creatures.

Jaq is his brother and Jay loves him with all his heart. And even if he has none of their ancestor's abilities he knows he's important to Jaq. Because while Jaq is darkness, Jay is light and as long as they're together everything will be fine.

Teresa is freaky, yes, but she also is one of his best friends. And since she has learned to put up a shield she can block out most things. He couldn't stand her, Jay believes, because they were so alike. But Teresa has changed and so has he.

And finally, Ten and Terrance might be strange but there definitely are stranger people in this world.

* * *

And Jay himself?

He is a hunter.

And what else are Hunters than freaks?


	3. Nadya

**Weights**

_Summary: Hunter Series3/9. Nadya can carry many things._

_Warnings: If you read one of my other fan fictions, you know what's expecting you.  
_

_Set: Story-unrelated_

_

* * *

_

Nadya can carry many things.

She really can. She might not look like it but she's really strong. Many people have noticed and commented on it, sometimes in nice, sometimes in rather unfriendly ways. The first were surprised by the smile they received. The latter did not smile again for some time.

-v-

Nadya can carry great weights.

Shopping bags. Piles of wood. Furniture – if it's a reasonable load. Weapons, oh, yes – she can carry a great amount of weapons, even though she never has as many with her as Rese carries on good days. Or, at least, not as many _different _weapons.

Some of it really is due to strength. But she is only human, too, so sometimes, her muscles fail her. Then she continues by sheer force of will. Stubbornness, some people call it, and they might be right. She simply refuses to surrender to something as trivial as a weight. Whatever she takes up, she brings it to the place it is supposed to be. Sometimes her arms hurt and her muscles and her shoulders burn. Sometimes people tell her not to carry that much. She doesn't mind them. It shows her they are worried about her. But they shouldn't be. She can carry a lot. She's strong.

-v-

Nadya can carry other things, too.

Things like masks.

She can carry them well and she can hide behind them well. It's not necessary nowadays, at least not often. But she has worn them and she knows she can use them to their full extent. It's a useful ability.

-v-

She can carry loneliness.

Because, contrarily to what many people say, loneliness isn't always bad. Sometimes she seeks it out purposefully, to find her inner peace and to gain strength. Then she returns to the ones she calls her friends. And they welcome her back every time.

-v-

Nadya can carry masks and loneliness and guilt. Yes, guilt, too, and she has a lot of experience with that one. She can carry guilt and fear and sorrow, and darkness and weariness and danger and uncertainty. But there is one thing she cannot carry.

-v-

Nadya cannot carry herself.

She's not strong enough for this task.

-v-

But that doesn't matter because there are people who will carry her when she is unable to do so. Those are the people she calls her family.

Rese carries her impatience and her impulsiveness. She carries Nadya's anger and fear and loneliness, and also her passion and her will to protect all of them. Whenever Nadya is alone and darkness surrounds her, Rese carries her.

Cassidy carries her intelligence, her instincts and her sense of danger, her ability to analyze a situation and to devise a plan. He also carries her compassion, her absolute devotion and her habit of sulking. When Nadya wants to lock herself up in her room and never leave it, Cassidy carries her.

Jay carries her childish side. The one that wants to laugh at Rese for acting rashly and tease her for losing her cool and the one that fears the dark and is terribly afraid of being left. When Nadya feels like crying like a child, Jay carries her.

Terrance carries her calmness, her strength and her sense of family. Because whatever happens, they are a family, and with that, he carries her memories of the dead and her sense of duty towards the living. When Nadya cannot see the path in front of her, Terrance carries her.

Jaq carries her sense of superiority as well as her feeling of never being good enough. But he also carries the knowledge that she is just the way she is and that they all love her that way and that there is nothing wrong with being weak sometimes. When Nadya feels like a stranger to herself, Jaq carries her.

Ten carries her utter loyalty to the Hunters' Council and Codex, her belief that fathers are almighty and that there always is a solution to a problem. She carries her sense of humor and her kindness and also her fear of losing the people dear to her. When Nadya does not know what reason she has to live, Ten carries her.

And finally, Marina carries her overflowing love. She carries all the memories of a house full of friends, of being lost in the dark and of finding the way back home. Of all of them living together and being together. When Nadya loses herself in darkness again, Marina carries her.

-v-

When Nadya cannot carry herself, the others carry her.

And in those moments she knows exactly what she is fighting for.


	4. Daemon

**Sky of Stone**

_Summary: HF4/9. Daemon doesn't seem like the person to believe in God. Still, Anathea finds him in a church. _

_Warning: Use of a character who has appeared in the manga but who was unnamed until I forced a name on her. Do you know whom I mean? I like her. She and Daemon would fit quite well, I think. _

_Set: shortly after vol3_

* * *

_A church is not a place she would have thought she would find him._

Her footsteps echo hollowly down from the high stone ceilings. Arches and pillars hold up what mankind built to honor a being that has never shown itself in public. Yet He has to be there, somewhere. Anathea believes in God in the same way she believes in vampires, werewolves and weirn. But contrary to the creatures of the night, she has never seen Him.

Sometimes, her belief is shaken by what she sees.

Sometimes, faith is the only thing to carry her forward.

The smell hanging in the cool air is dusty and stale. This is a pasture abandoned both by its sheep and shepherd but a last trace of life, the last whisper of voices and the flickering light of candles still is present. Wooden benches have been taken away to warm someone's feet, statues and crucifixes have been sold for earthly matters. Still, the tiny church remains a House of God, stubbornly clinging to its former purpose and glory with a certain sense of dignity.

When mankind abandoned it, Hunters used it as a sanctuary.

When Hunters abandoned it, it lost its last reason to exist.

Still, it is there.

Carefully, she picks her way across the ground. Grass and vines have claimed back what was taken from nature and made for men's worship. A rustling from somewhere above tells her birds have built their nests somewhere between pillars and marble railings. The glass windows are broken, shattered, and the wind sings its songs high above the sky made of stone. Outside, the sky is darkening. Soon it will be too dark to see for normal human beings. Anathea feels her eyes adjust and knows she'll be able to see even during the darkest hours of the night.

A dark figure is standing at the far side of the room.

_Why_, she wonders. _Why? _Daemon had never struck her to be a religious person. _Not him_. Daemon with his enormous strength and his absolute faith in the path of the Hunters. Daemon with his dark skin and eyes, dark and deep enough to make her drown in them. Daemon who looks like he has to be about as old as she is but in reality already existed years and years before she was born. She catches up with him and realizes he really must be praying. His eyes are closed. His hands hang loosely on both his sides. His breathing is regular. Anathea watches him for a few moments and decides to let him finish with whatever he is doing.

She finds her own little spot and closes here eyes as well.

When she returns to reality a few minutes later she isn't surprised to see her fellow Hunter watching her. Daemon has sat on a ragged stone edge that once might have been the stairs that led to the altar. Anathea hesitates for a split second and then walks over to sit next to him.

"I didn't know you believed in God."

"I don't," he answers shortly.

One of the first things she learned is that his curtness isn't a sign of boredom or annoyance. It's merely the way he is: always trying to avoid unnecessary words. She has been glad for it, in the past, when Phillip died. It's a comfortable silence that surrounds him.

She chuckles. "I thought so."

Leaning back, she raises her eyes to the dark stone above them. There are a few cracks in the ceiling, allowing her to see exactly one bright star. It's a beautiful sight.

Normal people would feel obliged to say something in order to keep the conversation running. Anathea has long learned that silence isn't something that is scary and has to be feared. She never liked talking much. And Daemon… Well, he probably just _doesn't _talk.

"How are your students?" She finally asks after they have been sitting in silence for almost five minutes. He doesn't move but she senses his worry.

"They will survive. They are strong."

Anathea sighs. It hasn't been a secret what has happened to three of his students and she has seen what the others had to deal with. There it is, again, the knowledge that she never, ever will take in students. _Never._

They sit in silence.

"You believe in God."

He surprises her with his statement. She stares at him for a split second, then she nods. He stares at her unblinking.

"Why?"

"Because there has to be something," she simply answers. "There has to be _more_ than just anything."

"Does He give you a reason?"

"A reason?" She repeats thoughtfully. "A reason why we go out every night? A reason why we kill and are killed, why we fight and die? A reason why we train our children to go out and die as well?"

"Yes."

"No."

Daemon ponders this shortly, then he asks:

"Then where is the sense?"

"I don't know."

"Even though you say you believe in God."

"Yes."

She's not going to explain what it is she actually believes in. She's not going to explain that she believes because she believes, that she worships because she worships. Faith is something everyone has to define for himself. Belief is nothing you can pick up from others, at least not usually. She smiles and feels the warmth from his body, sitting on the cool stone stairs right next to her.

They sit there and don't say anything and after a while Daemon leans back and sighs silently.

"It is peaceful."

She cannot deny the fact. Anathea savors the warmth of the person right next to her and the serene peace of the place encompassing her.

This tiny little church always has been one of her favorite places.

Finally, they both get up at the same time, following an unspoken calling. Anathea bows a last time to the place where once the altar stood and then turns to leave the church. She walks a few meters until she realizes the sound of footsteps behind her is missing. She turns in time to see Daemon stare at the place where the altar had stood and then execute a short bow. Fascinated, she watches him turn and walk towards her in a brisk pace. When he reaches her she starts walking, too, and together they head for the empty frame that once carried a door. A smile lights up her features.

"I thought you didn't believe."

"Figured if there was some great cosmic deity, I'd better treat it respectfully."


	5. Marina

**In Between**

_Summary: HF 5/9. Marina watches the children play and wonders what it would feel like to be like them. She is no human. She is no hunter. She's something weird in between. _

_Warning: Loneliness. Last chance to run. _

_Set: Story-unrelated. _

* * *

The summer sun is slowly setting above the small white clouds.

It's a beautiful sight. A red flush of delight covers the sky's face as it watches the people finish with their daily duties.

From her post in theattic of their house, a place that normally belongs to Rese, Marina watches the neighbor's children chase each other with the water hose. Screaming, the girl tries to hide from her brother who is targeting her with the wet element. Their little sister tackles him from behind, emptying a small bucket of water over his feet. The boy jumps and shouts something. But the words are not harsh and the laughter of both of the girls isn't malicious. They are simply having fun, they are enjoying themselves, and in the last streaks of the dying sun the image is so peaceful Marina breathes in deeply and closes her eyes to keep it in her mind forever.

She cannot remember a day when she has been this happy and cheerful.

Her entire childhood is a blur of dark faces and scornful looks, angry eyes and tears and screaming. What she remembers of it, she tries to forget again. What she does not remember, she cries over at night. It returns in those dark and terrifying dreams she cannot escape from. In the past, they were worse, though. Today all she remembers when awakening is the darkness, the feeling of being the only one left, the knowledge she has been betrayed and abandoned and the fear of living. The worst enemy is oneself, Rese once told her, and Marina knows what her friend wanted to tell her. There is nothing left to remind her of what she has been trough, nothing except her own refusal to forget.

The children have finished chasing each other and are lying in the cool, green grass, laughing breathlessly. It is envy she is feeling, really and truly. Those children are so different from her. They are full of vibrant life and possibilities, and their future is laid out in front of them like a bright, colorful tapestry. They will go to school, have friends, moan about teachers, find girlfriends and boyfriends and will grow. They will grow up and have normal jobs, live in normal houses with normal families. Their lives are normal, as normal as normal can be.

Marina never will be like them.

She is no normal human being.

She is no hunter.

She is something weird, something in between, and she has no place to go. She'll be the odd one out her entire life.

She hasn't wished for this.

But she doesn't regret it, either. At least not most of the time.

Somehow, she has come to live with it.

Still, it feels lonely.

There never will be someone who belongs with her, like Jaq belongs with Jay. There never will be someone who is like her, who understands her the way Rese understands Cassidy and Ten understands Teacher. There never will be someone who will know what she talks about, who knows what she feels because he has felt similarly before.

She doesn't ask for much. She wants to be held when she feels sad. She wants to be touched when she feels like she is losing connection. She wants to be shouted at because she has made a mess of something and she wants to be forgiven when she apologizes. Is it too much to ask?

Beware, Seer, thou seest thy future.

It's no good to ponder those things she knows never will happen. Or, if they do, will happen at a price she isn't prepared to pay.

So, instead, she watches the children and smiles. The girl is so much like Rese, bossy and protective, and the boy is like Jay. He is using every opportunity to tease his sisters. And the little girl – maybe it is a tiny bit like her. She's shy and small but there is something. She has an aura. There is something in her eyes that reminds Marina of herself and despite the heaviness weighting on her heart, she smiles.

A voice calls from the house and the three children gather up their towels quickly and start for the house. The elder sister waits and the boy stops as well and they both continue their way as soon as their little sister has caught up with them. She sees them vanishing behind the trees, the youngest safely encased between its elder siblings.

"Marina?"

A voice calls from downstairs and a dark head appears at the top flight of the rickety wooden staircase that leads up into the attic. Marina turns when Terrance's voice reaches her ears.

"Yes?"

"Dinner is ready," he announces and frowns at her. "Are you coming?"

Her smile turning into a wide grin as she slips from the old window sill and makes her way through boxes, crates and furniture.

"On my way."

She was born somewhere in between.

But that doesn't necessarily mean she has no place in this world.


	6. Jaq

**Light in Darkness**

_Summary: HF6/9 There's nothing more frightening than a window of light in the darkness. Jaq knows. _

_Warning: possible OOC-ness. Depends on how you squint. If you do find something strange you know something I don't know, probably...  
_

* * *

Jaq has never been sure from _what_ exactly his greatest fears originate.

But cruel as fears are they scare and torture him, chase away his security and poison his thoughts. Differently to Marina or Teresa he is seldom plagued by their fierce images by night. Maybe it is due to his habit of slipping into Jay's room to cower down in the cushioned seat in the far corner where he falls asleep easily listening to his brother's soft breathing. Therefore, sleep isn't something he is afraid of.

Neither is he afraid of darkness.

No hunter is, considering the fact that their eyes have adjusted to the tiniest hints of the faintest light and are able to see even in the dark. The night has no colors. There are a multitude of shades of gray, though, and Jaq has learned to love every single one of them. Darkness is comforting, soft and quiet, and offers both solace and protection. It's his hide-out when he needs a break from the world and his playground when he wants to experiment. Therefore he cannot imagine something fearsome in the black curtains that fall when the rest of the world sleeps.

No.

The dangers lie in the soft patches of light that fall through the windows _into_ the darkness.

* * *

It may be irrational. He doesn't care, though. Fear, he believes, doesn't have to be rational. But it doesn't matter because nobody needs to know and he won't ever tell anyone. This is his one great secret he will never share.

Yes, he is afraid. Yes, he knows it is silly. Yes, he avoids those windows, skips past them hastily if nobody is watching or flaunts by carelessly, desperately ignoring it. Jaq loves dark rooms and dark forests, black caves and the all-encompassing darkness of the night. With a passion that otherwise is foreign to him he despises the light shining through windows. Especially when he's inside and the lights is outside.

* * *

Why is this so?

It's simple once one knows the reason. Though it seems irrational. Being in the darkness isn't fearsome, neither if you're inside a building nor if you're outside it. Being outside a building and seeing the light shine from the inside isn't scary, either. But the feeling of being trapped _inside_ a building in the darkness and being blindsided from the _outside _is absolutely terrifying. Knowing there is someone out there who wants to hunt you down, who sees you even though you cannot see him because your eyes are accustomed to the darkness surrounding you.

It's a feeling of utter helplessness.

Jaq knows how game feels when trapped in the headlights of a car. He knows the terrifying, agonizing fear that freezes you to the spot you're standing in and makes it impossible to even move one inch. Being on show like that makes him feel vulnerable and scared and he definitely doesn't like that feeling. He hates it even more than he hates his inability to cope with it.

There are faces in those patches of light.

Faces contorted with anger and hate and blood-chilling threats. Blood splatters against the panes with dull sounds, finger nails claw at the glass and make screeching noises. Sometimes those images are hallucinations, called forth by his imagination. Sometimes they are real: demons wanting to get inside the house, hungry vampires trying to gain entrance to the valuable stock of Hunter's blood inside the safe stronghold. Hunter's blood: life-prolonging liquid, life-saving medicine and weapon at the same time. Teresa, Jay, and the others pretend to ignore them when they see them and usually one or two of them disappear and soon the sounds stop. But other faces return.

* * *

No, Jaq is no more afraid of the beings of the night than he is afraid of the darkness. He fears the faces, the sounds and, most of all, the _knowledge_ of being vulnerable.

He skips the windows. He turns on the lights.

Nobody notices.

Why should they? He doesn't act differently as long as they are around. It's not difficult to just _pretend_.

* * *

One day, while he is sitting alone in the growing darkness of the living room, a street lamp comes to life outside.

Before he can react, Cassidy enters and turns on the light. Not too much time later, all the others file in, chatting and smirking and bickering and smiling. They settle around the table and start a card game and when they ask if he wants to join he nods. Before they begin, though, Terrance nods at Ten. And she gets up and pulls down the shutters in front of the great windows.

With a comforting _thud_, the massive wooden blinds seal out the night from the world inside the room.


	7. Ten

**Orange Oracle**

_Summary: HF7/9. Ten finds magic in a plain orange. And everyone else is doomed._

_Warning: Intended humor. _

* * *

The kitchen was warm.

Carefully, Ten shaped the last corners of the sweet croissants she was baking. While she did so, she couldn't help but wonder: in the past, she hadn't been able to form them _this_ perfectly. Her croissants had been crooked, misshaped, and had given Jay plenty of opportunities to make fun of her. But while Ten was able to laugh at herself for the greatest part she didn't let anyone make fun of her _baking_. She was proud she was able to create such little sweets and cakes, even if she didn't have much time and chance to do so – and she didn't want her friends to make fun of what was so important to her.

_This_ was important to her. Her contribution to their family life, to their Clave.

Carefully placing the pastries on the baking tray, she took them over to the oven. When she opened the door, the heat rushed past her in a massive wave. It was fine, she was used to it. Besides, judging from the wind that was howling around the house and the drops of rain that were pelting the windows, being _warm_ was not something all her friends could say for themselves.

Setting the clock, she carried the used utensils to the sink and cleaned her hands. Then she eyed the fruits basket on the counter warily.

The bananas clearly had seen better days and the one orange and three green apples were looking like they weren't going to make it much longer. No one from their Clave was a great fruits-eater. Jaq liked an apple now and then and Marina loved bananas but only as long as they were green and hard. Seeing the brown spots and squishes, Ten sighed. What was she supposed to do with those fruits? She had already used some of the apples to fill a few croissants; the papery dough went well with the taste of baked apple. The orange was out of question. She had tried it once and her experiment had resulted in a bitter-tasting, dry pastry she hadn't even wanted Rese, the master of disaster concerning kitchen works, to see. She had dumped it silently and nobody knew about it – and that was fine with her. So what to do with those poor bananas and an orange?

Her decision was postponed when the front door of the house blew open with a loud noise. The silent beeping of the alarm system confirmed the arriving had entered the correct code. It wouldn't have been necessary for her to hear the electronic signal. Her Clave siblings didn't even bother trying to be silent.

"Man!"

"Grace to the Hunters, it's _warm_ in here!"

"I _hate_ storms! Why do we have to be on patrolling duty _tonight?_"

"What's wrong with a storm? A bit of rain, a bit of wind…"

"You're crazy, Rese! A _bit_ of rain and wind? Have you been out there for the last six hours or was that a clone of yours?"

"Calm down, Jay, we're home."

As if _anyone_ hadn't noticed yet.

Grinning, Ten cleared two chairs of the usual mess of Cass's papers, Jaq's books and Rese's knives and sure enough, a few minutes later, Jay and Terrance entered the kitchen, shortly followed by Cassidy, Nadia, Jaq and Rese. Teresa's hair was plastered to her head, dripping wet. Cassidy was polishing his glasses which seemed to have fogged up when he entered the warm house. He walked carefully as not to bump into anything. All of them were wet and looked like they had been frozen stiff but Jay already was gaining color and Jaq's lips didn't look too blue any longer.

"Hey, you're back!"

Marina came running down the staircase, her arms full of towels. "You look like you could need these…"

Thankful, Rese grabbed them, took one and threw the rest at Cass. "Thanks, Mar. Wow, it's really pouring now!"

"I need something warm," Nadia said, wringing water from her thick braid into the sink, and moved towards the water kettle. "Anyone else wants some tea?"

All of them agreed enthusiastically. Rese took eight mugs from a shelf while Jaq sniffed the air expertly. "Hey, Ten, what are you baking? It smells great!"

"Apple turnovers," she told them and grinned at the spark that lighted in their eyes. "They'll be ready soon. The apples definitely had to go."

"How can you think about stuff like that?" Terrance remarked. "A few rotten apples won't kill us."

She shrugged. "I just saw them. Any idea what we could do with two bananas and an orange?"

Doubtfully, her friends eyed said fruits, which still were lying on the kitchen counter.

"I have no idea," Cass confessed. Jay smirked. "We could put them into a pot of earth and wait for an orange tree and a few banana palm-trees to grow."

"Yeah, because we all have such a great hand with plants," Nadia chimed in. Rese looked horrified. "Please, no live experiments anymore! I still remember the cactus. And it _really _didn't need much water!"

"Well, at least we made it into the Hunter's annals," Cass said and grinned at his partner. "I don't think anyone before has ever managed to kill so many _potted plants_ in the last ten years as we have in _one_."

Marina chuckled and poured everybody hot water. Terrance hung a tea bag into his cup and snorted.

"So that was the reason why Teacher put you in charge. Because you protect the world from dangerous cacti."

"May I ask a question?"

Nadia lifted her hand mock-shyly. "If Cass is in charge because he _remembers_ to water plants even though he never does it, why is _Rese_ in charge, too?"

"Very simple!" Jay sunk a huge spoon of sugar into his tea. "Rese is in charge because if she wasn't, the world would end."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rese asked, her eyes sparkling dangerously. Jay merely grinned while Terrance, Nadia and Jaq pretended not to be there. Ten, looking at the oven in order to make sure her pastries weren't ready already, caught a glimpse at the orange and, by an impulse, grabbed it.

"So, orange, my dear, tell me: What do you want to be tonight? –_Oh, I would like to be something special! –_Well, let's see how special we can make you! What do you have to offer? –_My references are good, even if a bit outdated. My greatest asset probably is the fact that I am juicy and fresh as long as I'm young…"_

She stopped when she noticed the silence which had fallen. The entire Clave stared at her.

"Are you okay?" Jay asked, entirely forgetting his beginning argument with Rese. Ten smirked.

"I'm perfectly fine, thank you. But this orange thinks you are loud and noisy and won't ever succeed in becoming good hunters. Isn't that right? -_My sentiment exactly, dear Ten._"

"What is it – an orange oracle?" Cassidy asked, clearly amused. Terrance took up the train of thought.

"What do you see in our future, oh mighty orange?"

"_I see… I see! There are big hardships awaiting you… I see danger and peril and tears of sadness and rage… Oh yes, it is a dark future… You are doomed! You lot are doomed, and you won't ever escape your fate. It's written in the stars… The night is dark, oh yes… Doom!"_

Ten's voice had risen to a shrill whisper. The last words hung in the air for a few seconds until Marina started giggling, then laughing out loud. Everyone else joined her. Sitting on her chair, Ten cringed forward as she laughed as hard as her Clave siblings.

"That one was great, Ten," Rese panted and wiped away tears from her face. "So we are doomed? Our fate is written in the stars? That was really, really great!"

"Am I the only one who sees a certain irony in this prophecy?" Terrance asked. The others' expressions turned serene and cracked into a smile again.

"Sorry!" Nadia sighed. "It just was… perfect."

"Hey, don't make fun of my orange oracle," Ten said. "This one's a very wise orange."

At which they started laughing again.

* * *

The orange and the bananas made a great milk shake. It matched the apple turnovers just perfectly.

Fate and doom were postponed until further notice.


	8. Terrance

**Through a Crack in the Door**

_Summary: HF8/9. Terrance never closes his bedroom door properly. _

_Warning: -_

* * *

Terrance never closes his bedroom door properly.

He always leaves it ajar, leaves it open in a crack wide enough to let the light from the corridor spill into his room. And, along with it, everything that happens in the house.

This might sound strange. But neither is Terrance a stalker nor is he overly curious about what happens all around him. To understand the reason why he never shuts his door one has to know that he was the first one of their Clave – now a Clave of eight – along with Rese. And that he is the oldest one of them.

And as such, he feels responsible for his Clave siblings.

An open door carries many meanings but there is only one he cares for.

* * *

An open door means he is always there for his family. Whatever they need, whatever they want to talk about – his door is open for them. Neither the time of the day nor the topic matters. They don't even have to _want to talk_ to him – it has happened that someone has just come and sat with him, bringing along a book or some homework or an iPod. Does it matter? To Terrance, it doesn't. He never would describe himself as a person who needs company and certainly he wouldn't want _any_ person to be in his room. But seven people have the general clearance to enter whenever he is there. And they don't need to bring a reason.

Sometimes, Jaq enters like a ghost and sits on the armchair in the corner, pulling up his legs to his chest and looking out of the window. Sometimes, Mar comes and brings a book she wants to show him. Sometimes, Nadya and Ten join him and discuss quietly and he lets them. Sometimes, Rese knocks silently, enters and sits on his window sill. She simply watches the street outside or brings some homework or something to read. This happens mostly when they are alone at home, when the rest of them are out hunting and the house is silent and still. They are used to each other's company so much they all dread being alone, somehow. If Terrance wouldn't offer his room someone else would.

* * *

An open door means he knows what is going on in the house around him. He is not curious or even spying. Exactly because he opens his room to anyone of his friends he knows how precious privacy is. And whenever he truly closes his door there is no other sign necessary to show his Clave siblings that he doesn't want to be disturbed. Everyone respects that. So, because he respects their privacy, whenever one of them disappears into his room Terrance stops thinking about him. But he still _worries_.

For that reason, he leaves his door open. That way, he can hear whenever someone steps into the corridor. He can listen to the sound of soft feet that pad down the stairs – into the kitchen, sometimes, and mostly he can hear the water running when Marina fetches a glass of water. Her soft feet tap across the corridor often at night, into the bathroom or down into the kitchen. Sometimes, her footsteps are followed by others, when Nadya or Rese quietly shadow her and bring her back into her bed when she starts sleep-walking again. If the girls don't follow her, he does. He carefully guides her back into her room and makes sure she is asleep before he leaves.

Terrance can hear Jaq passing his door on his way to Jay's room. He knows the twins still share a room whenever one of them feels down. And no, he doesn't judge, he doesn't even think of it. It's a fact. And as long as they are fine, he won't ever think about it further. He just needs to know they are okay, and they are, as long as they are together.

Through the crack in his door he sees the automatic light in the entrance hall come on when Teacher comes back late at night. Actually, Daemon doesn't live with them any longer. But he still returns from time to time, to sit in the library in the darkness or to have dinner with them. When the light immediately is turned off again and the soft chime of the alarm system accepts his code, Terrance sometimes gets up and walks downstairs. He joins Teacher in the library and they listen to the world's soft breathing together. Sometimes he just turns around and falls asleep again.

Sometimes the nightly commotion is louder than Teacher's quiet visits. Sometimes the light stays on and the people moving to and fro in the hall whisper quietly and he wakes up and knows someone has returned from a not-so-successful hunt. The acidic smell of blood and disinfectant doesn't reach him but he knows they are there. Sometimes the light turns off after a few minutes and the house falls quiet as every hunter disappears into his own room. Sometimes it takes longer and the voices carry far more urgency. That is when Terrance gets up to check on his injured Clave siblings. Hunters heal almost instantly but their life expectancy wouldn't be so short if not the Night would always find new ways to try to kill them. Sometimes the gap between life and death is rendered almost invisible, like the night in which Cassidy and Terrance wait by Teresa's side until the effects of the poison die down and the trashing, whimpering girl falls into an exhausted sleep. On other nights he bandages a broken wrist or just offers hot chocolate and a comforting presence.

* * *

He does feel like a father taking care of his family sometimes. But he doesn't care what others would think of him. What matters is the safety and wellbeing of his Clave.

* * *

Sometimes, at night, he hears giggling and whispering and knows Ten, Nadya, Rese and Marina have one of their nightly sleep-overs. He listens as doors open and close – each door has its own unique sound. Jay would probably throw a laughing fit if he told them he could differentiate between their doors by their sound alone – but every member of his family moves differently, too. Mar walks on the tip of her toes because she is the only one who hasn't had a proper Hunter training. Nadya, Jay, Rese and Ten walk almost unheard but the length of their steps and the briskness in their walk is worlds apart. Jaq is the one Terrance sometimes can't hear because he moves too quietly. And Cassidy's steps are heavier than the girl's and Jay's, though almost as quiet.

Some things don't change.

Mar often walks downstairs to get a glass of water. Nadya studies and reads far into the night and her light steps cross over in direction of the girls' bathroom quietly. When Jay needs the bathroom at night he stumbles clumsily, his grace and elegance entirely lost. Terrance once met him on the corridor far past midnight and exchanged a few whispered words with him. The next day, Jay didn't even remember having seen him. He doesn't sleep-walk, like Marina, but he can sleep while walking, definitely.

* * *

Jaq is not the only one who changes rooms sometimes.

Terrance can still remember the time when they shared one big room as their bedroom and sometimes he thinks the arrangement wasn't too bad. Except for now they're almost grown-up and Teacher probably was right when he said they needed a room each. That was why they moved into this house in first place.

So now they all have their own room. But still, Jaq visits his twin at night and falls asleep in his room. Terrance can understand this sentiment: knowing there are people around him even though he cannot see them is reassuring. Marina wanders, too, sometimes to Ten's room, sometimes to Nadya's, but most often to Rese's. Wherever she goes she knocks at the door once, softly, and though Terrance cannot hear the reply he knows the soft sound is enough to wake each girl. Hunters sleep lightly. He then hears the door open and sometimes there is a soft light shining out of the room Mar has chosen. And when the door falls shut again Terrance knows Marina will fall asleep in another bed but protected by either Nadya, Ten or Rese. And he smiles lopsidedly because he knows how the little seer pays back the love they show her with her own, awkward kindness.

Nightly wanderings aren't uncommon, as are Teacher's nightly visits or returning hunters. Uncommon are nights like the one when Jay was sick. Nights in which Terrance cleans up vomit, not blood, checks for fever, helps to put on new bed sheets and prepares chamomile tea. Those nights he doesn't really fall asleep again, always listening for another sound. On other nights he's too late and Teresa has beaten him to whatever has been going on. And since he knows he can trust her with whatever is happening, he continues to sleep. She, more than anyone, is his little sister since he has known her for the longest time and has taken care of her.

Understandably, the first time he listens to Cassidy's footsteps walk along the corridor and stop before he has reached his own door, his senses are alert. Cassidy never enters other bedrooms than his own, for whatever reasons. And even though Terrance has grudgingly accepted that his little Resa has, also grudgingly, started letting Cassidy be with her when she had nightmares instead of Terrance, he thinks _this_ might go too far. Since relationships in Claves aren't allowed and, by all means, this is _Teresa_ they're talking about! But that night Cassidy leaves after a short time and Terrance vows to ask him what _that_ was about. Only he doesn't because he doesn't interfere with his Clave sibling's relationships like that. He has vowed to protect, not to interfere. So Terrance clenches his teeth and waits what happens and is amazed at how much restraint he possesses.

* * *

It's not that things like this happen every night.

There are nights that remain perfectly still and normal and only the occasional owl can be heard from the other side of the windows. Other nights he only hears one or two of his siblings use the restroom or fetch something to drink. Some weeks he even forgets why his door is left ajar until something happens that reminds him again.

* * *

If nothing happens that means his family is okay, his siblings are fine. Not hearing Rese's silent steps in the middle of the night means she hasn't had nightmares and is escaping the darkness in her room. Not needing to coax Mar into her bed means the little seer is stable and healthy. Falling asleep with the thin streak of light falling into his room from Nadya's room means she is reading and is okay. Not hearing Ten wandering into the library, hoping to meet Teacher, means she is fine. Not hearing Jaq tiptoe to his twin brother's room (or Jay to Jaq's room) means they are fine. All the while, not hearing anything from Cassidy is normal. Sometimes, Terrance has the suspicion that the Clave leader does the same he does: always keeping an eye on his Clave siblings. But then, Cassidy never leaves his door open. Once, the thought came to his mind that he left that job to Terrance because he knew how much he needed it. Terrance pushed it back again quickly. Cassidy would need _much_ better arguments than that to make up for the fact that Rese slipped into _his_ room on some nights. But her doing so means Cassidy gives her something Terrance can't give her and even though the thought hurts he feels happy for his little sister.

* * *

Which is left is the second reason why Terrance leaves his door ajar.

Yes, he loves his siblings, and yes, he wants to protect them and he cares for them and he wants to be close whenever they need him. But he also knows one thing:

Though hunters are used to the night and to darkness, being alone in the darkness is always more terrifying than facing it together. That is the reason he leaves his door open. A tiny streak of light always shines into his room that way, along with the typical sounds and the soft breathing of the house and the people he loves. And he knows he's not alone. They are there, his Clave, and they are safe.

Knowing this, Terrance sleeps all the better.


	9. Teresa

**She**

_Back-from-wherever-post 8/8  
_

_Summary: HF9/9. Rese is anything than perfect. _

_Warning: -_

_A/N: The lines are taken from the song "She's always a Woman" by Billy Joel. It absolutely fits her. Umm. It fits my Rese, of course. _

* * *

_She can kill with her smile, she can wound with her eyes._

-v-

Sometimes she's cruel.

Terrance knows Rese longer than anyone else. He is most familiar with the edges of her character which cut mercilessly, and the undercurrents which drown people who try to test her.

She has many different expressions. She scowls or she sneers, she swears or she laughs or she is annoyed. She is funny or angry or annoying or embarrassed or sad. Only two expressions are rarely seen on her face and there is a good reason for it.

Because her smile can kill, sometimes, and her eyes wound worse than Veres.

She shouldn't be able to cause repercussions that severe. She's only human, she's only a girl. She's like the little sister Terrance never had. Maybe that is the reason it hurts so much to see her like that.

He has seen her smile like _that_ only once and it was the prelude to something he has been trying to forget ever since. It was an inhuman smile, cold and calculating. Merciless. But he has also seen her eyes like _that_ just once – and worlds of betrayal were written into them so clearly it broke his heart. And it hadn't even been directed at him. She hadn't done it voluntarily but the gaze from her brown eyes was filled with cruelness only children possess; the cruelness of not knowing better and not having experienced yet. It's not quite that. She probably _knows_ better and she _has_ experience, perhaps more so than anyone of them.

She feels loneliness and sadness and fear, too. She's neither ice like Nadya and Ten nor like the fire people compare her to. Ice is cold and calm and soothing. Fire is hot and passionate, destructive and life-giving. She is neither of both because she is cold and calm and relentless and all-consuming at the same time. She just doesn't have the absoluteness it takes to be either one. Terrance never was able to fit her into a category but he's pretty sure that's impossible for anyone else as well. But he knows she'll always be like a sister to him and as a big brother he has the duty to protect her with everything he has.

She's only human, after all.

-v-

_She can ask for the truth but she'll never believe it._

-v-

Sometimes she's hard to understand.

Ten fails three of four times to think herself into Rese. There is so much the hot-headed girl is – and yet she's hard to describe and even harder to understand. It's probably the goal of a lifetime to figure her out completely and Cassidy seems to be attempting it.

What puzzles Ten most is her refusal to believe.

She hates lies. She despises pretenses with an intensity that is amazing. Whenever she has the feeling someone is lying to her she gets angry – even angrier than usual. She gets so angry she doesn't even shout, just leaves the room with clenched fists and everyone knows she'll lock herself in her room for the next few hours. They have an unspoken agreement to not lie to each other in their Clave and yet, like every teenager, Ten knows there are ways of hiding the truth without actually telling a lie.

But not even she lies to Rese. It feels wrong. Rese lies to herself so much it seems cruel to do the same.

Because, as much as she demands to be told the truth, she never _believes_ it. Of course, she believes things like "We'll be back from town for dinner" or "The sky sure is blue today". But important things – things like "We won't leave you" or "You're not alone" or "I love you" – those are the things she outright refuses to hear, much less to believe. It's like there is a barrier in her head blocking out everything with the potential to hurt her in any way possible. It's really, really hard to understand, even for Ten, who probably is her best friend.

She can't know, of course, because directing a "I care for you" at Rese is futile. But she hopes. One day, someone will crack her shell.

She's only a girl, after all.

-v-

_She's frequently kind and she's suddenly cool._

-v-

Sometimes she's scary.

Jay doesn't think he knows another person that is like Rese.

She can be kind in one second and cold in the next. He has seen her comfort Marina almost motherly, has watched her guard the young seer's sleep with a fiercely protective expression. The next instant she is looking down on a dying werewolf and the normally warm brown of her eyes has turned into an icy black. She kills mercilessly, without doubt, almost in cold blood. It's not normal even by hunter's standards, the way she revels in a fight.

She's good. There's no doubt there. She's quick and strong and able and intelligent and incredibly skilled in the use of whatever weapon they have at hand. She's as strong as Cassidy (If both play fair their sparring matches end in draws) and quick as Nadya, deathly as Terrance, involved as Ten and as far gone as Jaq. Jay doesn't like to draw parallels between his brother and the other half of their team's leader but it's the truth.

How can someone be like that? Even Jaq, emerged in shadows as he is, hasn't got a split personality.

Jay would immediately admit that she scares him whenever she switches personalities. It makes her seem like she can kill in cold blood, smiling down on her enemy mercilessly, when she actually is a _good_ person. He knows she feels guilt, regret and doubts as much as anyone of them. He knows her other side. He has seen her laugh while reading a book to Marina, he has seen her feed the birds in winter and smile at the sight of a storm. He knows she's the one of them who's too afraid to live by herself. But this other side of her – the _cold_ Rese – scares the shit out of him. Then, he tries to joke around and to annoy her because when she's angry at him he sees she's not cold and unfeeling. She gets worked up over little things like his teasing and that proves how much she loves them all, that she really is alive. But her other side is there.

She's a hunter, after all.

-v-

_And the most she could do is throw shadows at you._

-v-

Sometimes she's so far away it hurts physically.

Cassidy is the last person to judge another hunter at the darkness in his heart.

But he, too, is the first one to agree on the fact that Rese is a special case. Jay is right when he calls her schizophrenic (although never loud enough for her to hear) because she possesses a certain ability to switch between two different characters. It's always Rese, of course, but her two sides are extreme enough to make anyone believe there are two different souls (and hearts) in her chest.

She's kind in one minute and cool (_cruel_) in another. She smiles and yet the loneliness in her eyes is unbearable. She only reveals what she wants others to see. More than anyone, she is able to direct darkness at other people and yet the worst she does is throw shadows. Her fears make her threats insubstantial and her loneliness reduces them to shadows of what they could have been, nothing more. She can ask for the truth but she'll never believe. She is so hard to read she is almost entirely see-through. Cassidy likes to think he has figured her out. It has taken him years to catch a look behind her almost perfect façade. Knowing her that well makes it difficult to pretend things are different from what they are. But said pretenses are what keep her upright, as much as she despises and denies them, so he holds on to them.

He pretends not so know her.

He pretends not to see her.

He pretends not to care for her.

He pretends her pretenses are real.

She is not a tragic heroine filled with just anger and even more doubt. She's not a perfect hunter. She's not the ideal leader or an idolized mother or elder sister. She's stubborn and headstrong, impatient and annoying. She acts rashly and over-reacts. But she's also funny and humorous and kind. She's loving and caring and she tries harder than anyone else. She never forgets and rarely forgives, she laughs and dreams and wakes up paralyzed with fear. She scolds and she smiles, she breathes and fights, she doubts and accepts but she never believes. She never gives in – she just changes her mind. She ruins faith with casual lies and gives hope and new strength the same instant. She hides like a child. She speaks with her eyes. She brings out the best and the worst in a person and sometimes people tend to forget what Cassidy has known for a long, long time already:

She's only a woman.

She's anything than perfect. She's so much more.


End file.
